Ebere Nwoji
Outgoing President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) Emmanuel Okunoren, recently listed the achievements of his administration in the past two years, saying though it was not a bed of roses, yet the council recorded some modest feats.
Highlighting these achievements, Okunoren said through the effort of his administration, it is now a pride for brokers to belong to the NCRIB, because of the added value members are getting from the council.
According to him, through this value addition, NCRIB members have been able to douse the negative views and a flurry of ill fillings that was the lot of many members about two years ago.
“We have given value in terms of training. We have also given value in terms of information sharing, leading to facilitation of business through public bids,†he said.
He further highlighted the ability of his administration to create good relationship between NCRIB members and government, saying in the last two years, the flurry of penalties and fines being levied on brokers are “killing†and have become a disincentive to business.
He, however, said today NCRIB has, through constructive dialogue, sought concession for its members with the regulatory authorities, especially NAICOM and the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN).
The outgoing NCRIB president also said the council, under his administration, has extended the frontiers of relationships with international insurance bodies, especially BIBA and the African Insurance Forum (AIF) with the consequential benefits in form of better training and exposure for members.
“We have realised that for the industry to continue to be relevant, its members must continually learn and unlearn and have the required exposure to deliver value to their clients”, he stated.
In terms of image of the brokers, Okunoren, said it was a thing of joy that the council entrenched the corporate visibility project during the period, adding that it realised the need to inch up the image of brokers and pull down several noxious beliefs about their practice.
He added that currently, the corporate visibility project has been warmly received by all members and through it the corporate reputation of the council and its members have been improved significantly.
According to Okunoren, in terms of intra industry relationship, his administration’s foot print in the past two year is very visible, noting that the last two years had witnessed significant cooperation between the NCRIB and other industry operators, namely the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria(CIIN), the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA)and Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (LAN).
